With an hour to play with I had intended to do a circuit out along Sid road to Sidford and back into Sidmouth along the main A375, however, after a detour over Mill Street ford, which for some reason was specifically signposted "unsuitable for cyclists", I wheeled upon the Sidmouth section of National Cycle Route 2.
This is an idilic 2 mile tarmac route through parkland along the river Sid, winding its way over bridges on an interesting crisscrossing path which exits either north, in Sidford, my intended mid point or to the east at Fortescue, onto Sid Road.
I enjoyed the outward run to Sidford so much that once back in Sidmouth I circled around and up the beach to retrace my route along the cycle path, turning off this time at the eastern fork to Fortescue where I was able to join Sid Road which took me over the river back into Sidmouth.
The weather was near perfect, much warmer than earlier weeks and so, I was finally able to shed the majority of the Michelin-man layers that I'd been carrying since starting my Tour-de-Fitness. The strong easterly breeze along the front, however, took a great deal of peddle power to maintain forward motion, while returning in the opposite direction on the second circuit was a dream!
At the 8 mile point, I came upon a coffee shop and after pondering for a while over whether I could risk leaving my steed untethered outside while I took on caffeine within, I spotted a handy takeaway window, from which my beverage was duly served.
I was then able to enjoy sitting in the sun, overlooking the beach watching the Exe to Axe runners pass by on their torturous route from Exmouth to Seaton, it gets no better than this!
Stats: 9.5 mi, 54m 36s, Avg 10.4 mph, max 26.5 mph, 605 kcal
No comments:
Post a Comment